A Love Divided
by Ebil Chameleon
Summary: Sequel to This Wasn't in My Contract! Sakura had news to tell her husband Gaara and is waiting for the right time. But she gets called back to her village and can't tell him. Longer summary inside! HIATUS
1. Baby time

**Oh gods! All I did was see a Japanese name and I suddenly got to writing this! The meaning of the name is 'sand of the village' and I was like…omg. Haha**

**Ok, now I live on a horse farm. And they started weaning the babies away from their mothers today. Well, I live almost right next to the barn where all of the babies will be staying. Some are directly behind my house, practically in my backyard. **

**All I can say…those things will not shut up. I feel slightly bad for them…but I won't be sleeping for the next couple of nights. Ah…happens every year. It sounds like horses go wild or something. **

Summary: So, Sakura has a secret to tell Gaara. She gets called away and doesn't have a chance to tell him. There has been a breakout of an incurable disease and it's up to Sakura to save her village. In the mean time, she finds out her best friend is getting married. That is the good news. Bad news...some of the people she loves have caught the disease. And a message...Gaara? What happened to Gaara? So now Sakura has to save her home, and worry about her husband.

**Disclaimer: Naruto is still not mine…just the plot and ideas. **

"Oh dear…please…no. We don't need this…not know."

Sakura was mumbling to herself as she paced around in the bathroom. She kept glancing around nervously, her hands laced together to stop them from shaking. She looked out the window. The sun was almost gone over the horizon. Which means one thing.

Gaara would be home soon.

"Sakura, are you ok? Should I help with something?" A voice sounded outside the room. Sakura froze and gulped before speaking.

"I need help. Temari, what if it's positive? What do I do then? I can't live with that. I'm barely an adult. I'm turning twenty in three months. I'm too young. This isn't happening right? Tell me!" She said, now pacing around frantically once more. Her stomach was in knots and she couldn't suppress her nervousness.

"It'll be alright Sakura. Can I come in?" Temari asked.

"Yeah."

The door opened to reveal a concerned blonde. Her dark eyes looked on as Sakura took a seat on the counter top. The girl was fidgeting.

"What will happen?" she whispered. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. The blonde walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing bad will happen if it's positive. Trust me." Temari said. She gave Sakura a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, you're right Temari." She said.

"What are sister-in-laws for?" Temari said. "I think it's time to check." She then said and looked at the small cup on the sink. Sakura's eyes widened.

No. She wasn't ready. She couldn't do it. No! She was doomed. Nothing good could come out of this. It was horrible. There was no way…no way she would look at it!

"I'll check it." Temari said.

"No!" Sakura shouted. Temari jumped back, slightly started. Sakura didn't move to check the thing at all. But Temari wouldn't do anything Sakura didn't want her to. So she waited for the girl to do something.

"Is something wrong?"

The door was left open and a paint free Kankuro popped his head into the bathroom. Temari glanced at him and shook her head. "Just go Kankuro. We'll talk later." She growled.

"Well sorry for being concerned!" He said in an offended tone and stormed off. A door slammed closed further down the hallway as he entered his room.

"Come on Sakura. Just check it." Temari urged. She was anxious to see the results, but she knew Sakura wasn't ready for it. She looked between the cup and the pink haired girl who refused to move. She would just grab the thing and check it, but Sakura would stop her and get upset. Something she didn't need.

"R-right." Sakura stuttered and reached for the device. She took hold of the small white stick, her emerald eyes wide. She didn't even look down at it.

"Oh I can't." she started. "No. I have to do this…" Sakura gulped and moved her eyes. "No! Ah…I…I just can't!" she shut her eyes. Temari sighed.

"Just get it over with." The blonde said.

"R-right. I should, I mean I have to do this. How do I tell? Oh man…I don't want to…" Sakura opened her eyes and looked down at the small white stick.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked it over and her frown deepened. "What the hell is a blue line!?" she shouted.

Temari cringed at the sound of Sakura's screech and took hold of the box that sat on the edge of the counter. She scanned over the words that were used to tell the results and her dark eyes grew wide with every word. Sakura was viciously clawing at her pajama pants, the small stick discarded on the counter. She glanced nervously at Temari and the blond finally set the box down.

"Blue line?" she asked quietly. Sakura nodded and looked down at said blue line. "It's what I think it is huh?" Sakura asked, her voice cracking up.

Temari could only frown. Despite the fact that this isn't what the medic nin wanted, she couldn't help but feel slightly excited. She always loved children, and couldn't wait for one to run around the house. Even if it wasn't her own. Although Kankuro, she knew, could go without one for all of his life. He never did get along with little children. He just did not like them. Then again, this might be different.

"I'm going to have a baby." Sakura whispered as the news finally began to sink in.

A door opened somewhere in the hall and footsteps approached. Once again Kankuro appeared at the door. "Do we have our results?" he asked.

Temari glared at him. "Who says Sakura wants you to know." She said. Kankuro stuck his tongue out at her and walked into the room. He moved to Sakura and put and arm around her.

"Cause Sakura loves me. Right?" he said looking down at the frozen girl. She was blankly staring at the wall in front of her.

The girl felt…shocked more than anything. But she was also…scared. She had no idea how Gaara would react. No idea in the least. Would he be happy…angry…upset. Would he accept the baby…or push it away? No…this was Gaara…he would never do that. He would take care of this child, she just knew it. It wouldn't be like him to push something away…something that's part of him.

She felt Kankuro's hand gently squeeze her shoulder as Temari told him the test was positive. He smiled at her. She noticed, but she didn't acknowledge it. "Don't worry." He whispered into her ear. She passively nodded and her view changed as she glanced down at the floor.

"You have nothing to worry about anyways. Gaara will be good about it, trust me. And if not…we'll beat some sense into him." He said with a chuckle. Temari sighed and shook her head. Her brother wasn't the best at cheering someone up.

"Anything for my little sister." He said. The puppet master than turned on his biological sister. "When's dinner going to be ready? I've been waiting for a while." He said. the wind mistress raised an eyebrow.

"You did not just ask me that." She said in a low dark tone.

Kankuro walked off and towards the door. "'Fraid I did." He said. He took one last look at Sakura who was still frozen on the counter. He noticed she moved her hand and it was lying on her stomach. "I told you not to worry Sakura. Everything will be fine…and Gaara won't be home for a while, so you have plenty of time to calm down." He said and walked out the door and to the stairs. The faint steps of him leaving faded away and silence filled the room.

"It'll be alright. Like Kankuro said, Gaara won't be home anytime soon so…you have time to think of a way to tell him." Temari said, trying to comfort the girl.

But then the thundering of footsteps running up the stairs, followed by more running down the hall came. Kankuro snuck back into the room, eyes slightly widened, as he panted softly. The poor boy looked as if he just saw a ghost.

"Scratch that," he panted. "Gaara is home. He almost saw me."

"Well for the love of Kami. If he didn't see you he sure as hell heard you! Man, you probably led him here!" Temari shouted.

"Me! Listen to yourself! He can probably hear you over anything I did!"

"Yeah right! You're shouting too!"

"Well you started the shouting!"

"Did not!"

"Uh…right, you know you did!"

"Shut it Kankuro!"

"Ha! As if! I should be saying that to you!"

"Well stop before…"

"Gaara." Sakura whispered. Her eyes widened more if possible. The Kazekage stood in the doorway, giving his family the best 'wtf' face he could muster. He didn't need to ask questions, because the three in the bathroom already knew what he was thinking.

Why is there a family feud going on in the bathroom?

"I won't ask." Gaara said and walked out of the bathroom.

Temari put her head in her hands. Sakura jumped down off the counter. "We don't tell him." she said quickly.

"Alright, I get that but when are you going to tell him?" Temari asked.

"I don't know…but not now. I'll tell him when I think its right." Sakura said, not liking the idea. Gaara, being the father, deserved to know. But she couldn't…not yet. When she was ready she would. She just wanted to make sure that everything was right when she did. That she was certain of how she felt about it, and that he was ready for the biggest shock of his life.

A pregnant silence filled the room. No one moved. Temari was biting at her thumb nail while Kankuro was glancing around the room like an impatient child. Sakura was leaning up against the counter, her hands over her stomach.

"So…ah. How about dinner?" Kankuro asked, earning a smack on the head from his older sister.

**XxX**

Dinner was quiet. Too quiet. Quieter than normal, and even normally it was quiet. But this time, no one said anything. Sakura wanted to run out of the room before her mouth had a chance to open for her food. She was afraid of opening her mouth. Because words usually come out of your mouth when it's open. And she couldn't say anything.

She avoided her husband's eye. Although Gaara was giving curious glances to everyone around the table. He knew something was up. They were all too quiet. Something happened in that bathroom today. And Gaara didn't know if he even wanted to know.

Sakura kept giving Temari a readable look. A look only the blonde would understand. At the same time the girls stood up. "I'm full." Temari said.

"Me too." Sakura said soon after. They took their leave and never noticed the pleading look Kankuro sent to them both. He glance back at his brother out of the corner of his eye and gulped to find the red head glaring at him.

"He knows." Sakura hissed once they were in the kitchen. She kept her voice low so she wouldn't be heard. "He knows something is up. I can tell. I mean, we're not exactly acting normally."

"I know, I know." Temari said and walked over to the sink. She placed her plate in there and turned the hot water on. Sakura joined her and set her plate in the sink. The blonde began to scrub the dishes while she listened to the worried girl.

"We just have to act like nothing is wrong. Just…normal. We have to act normally." She said and grabbed onto the dish towel. She began to dry the newly washed dishes when Kankuro practically ran into the room.

"I swear if looks could kill…" he started. He handed his dish to Temari.

"What are you doing in here?" Sakura asked in a hushed voice. She glared at her 'brother' who had a nervous look on his face.

"You go out there and sit with him by yourself. Especially when he can tell we're keeping something from him!"

"Yeah…well…he'll suspect something if someone isn't out there acting normally. Just…go talk to him! He's your brother!" Sakura hissed back at him.

"Heh. He's your husband!" Kankuro retorted and smirked in triumph.

"Hmph. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for old people and stupid rules!"

"Whatever." Kankuro said.

Sakura set her towel down and advanced on the boy. "Get. Out. There. Act like nothing is going on. He'll suspect if we all are in here whispering to each other." She said and pushed his to the archway into the dinning room.

"No! I can't…he'll…he'll do things to me! I know it. He'll give me that evil look! Don't make me!" Kankuro pleaded. Sakura didn't listen, and Temari smirked with amusement at the sink.

With one harsh push, Sakura sent Kankuro stumbling into the dinning room. He nearly fell flat on his face, and when he stood up straight, he received the evil look he feared.

The boy stood there awkwardly. His brows were scrunched up, and he forced himself to stop fumbling with his shirt. Stupid nervous habits. Gaara didn't say a word, but attempted to break Kankuro with his infamous glare.

More time passed and Kankuro attempted to avoid the glare, but it was inevitable. The look seemed to draw his eyes to his brother. He couldn't say anything. He wasn't allowed. But…if he didn't say anything, Gaara would torture it out of him. If he did say anything Sakura would…oh god.

The puppet master finally opened his mouth to speak.

"I…I…I have to pee." He said hurriedly and rushed out of the room and up the stairs.

Well…he was a dead man either way.

**XxX**

"Mind telling me what's going on?" Gaara asked, climbing into bed beside Sakura.

"Hm? Nothing is. Everything's normal." She replied, trying to calm her stomach. She felt like she was going to be sick, and her pregnancy had nothing to do with it. She shut her eyes, and forced her body to relax. Everything would be alright.

"Doesn't seem like it to me." He said and pulled the red covers up over them both. Sakura sank down and seemed to bury herself in the soft sheets. What she would give for the world to just swallow her up right now.

"Everything is fine. Nothings wrong." She assured him. _'Act normal.' _She repeated in her head. She leaned over and gave him a sweet kiss goodnight like she did every night, and settled down on his chest. _'Normal, normal, normal.' _She said over and over.

"Hm. Right. You three are hiding something from me I can tell." He mumbled and wrapped his arms around his wife. The girl snuggled into his embrace and yawned tiredly.

"Like I said, everything is fine. Just…normal." She said, resting her arms around him.

"Yeah right. Nothing is normal with this family."

**Ah, chapter one is complete. I hope you all enjoyed this and I'll try to get an update up as soon as I can. I don't know exactly how long this story will be. I can't promise anything. **

**Ja ne! **


	2. Trouble back home

**Oh goodness. I didn't think it would be this popular. Although when I look back at TWIMC. Thank you all! You make me soo happy. -**

"I'm really sorry to do this." Sakura said as she placed a large pile of papers on the desk in front of Gaara. The man grimaced at the amount and looked up at her. She gave him a sympathetic smile. "You'll live."

"Easy for you to say. Just go do whatever you were doing." He said and waved his hand at her. He bowed his head in defeat and picked up his pen. Stupid thing. What he would give to just chuck the thing out the window. Although he had done that twice today and Sakura wasn't impressed either time. She ranted on about taking responsibility and getting his work done.

Sakura had graciously agreed to help him on her day off. She was skeptical. She could very possibly let something slip and she was still unsure of when to tell him of the pregnancy. She knew it had to be soon, but…oh she didn't know.

So at the moment the pink haired nin was sorting through various files, and putting everything in its right place. Not the most fabulous job, but eh…gave her something to do. Otherwise she would be sitting at home bored as hell. So she decided to be here in Gaara's office bored as hell. At least she could bug her husband.

Plus she had scheduled a doctor's appointment today as well. She needed to be checked over and she wasn't going to check herself over. That didn't always turn out right. Her appointment was later in the afternoon so she didn't have to worry about it for a while seeing as it was only nine in the morning. Basically Sakura just wanted to make sure she was healthy and everything was alright. Plus she wanted to find out how far along she was. As far as she could tell, she wasn't too far along. She hadn't even had any morning sickness yet. That usually started almost two months into a pregnancy.

"I'm hungry." Sakura said out of the blue. Gaara sighed from behind his desk.

"That's the third time you said that." Sakura failed to notice the strange look she received from Gaara.

"So. I didn't get breakfast." She complained to the Kazekage. Sakura looked down at the file in her hand and took note of the name. She flipped through the other folders in the filing cabinet and placed in its appropriate place.

"That's you're fault. I told you to get something."

"Hmph. I didn't want anything at that time, it was too early." The girl complained from her spot of the floor.

"You can go get something if you want. I have to stay here." Gaara said as he read over one of the papers before placing it down and signing it. There was just too much work to get done. Even with Sakura's help. Her complaining wasn't helping, but at least she was working while she was doing it. "You've been complaining at lot more lately." He said finally.

"Oh, well sorry if it's been bugging you. I'm going to finish this pile of folders than I'll go get something for us."

Gaara knew there was something up with her. The fact that she had been complaining a lot. She had been conversing with Temari more that usual, in secret as well. At times he would hear them giggle then look around nervously. Kankuro seemed to be in on it too. They would talk to him and he seemed to roll his eyes and walk away. Not only that…

At that moment Sakura's stomach growled and the girl blushed. "Shush." She told her stomach.

The medic's hunger patterns were out of whack. One night, not long ago the girl craved (odd for a Japanese girl) Mexican food. Where he was supposed to find it he didn't know. A few nights ago she made hamburgers (much to Kankuro's enjoyment). It was just odd for her.

He would get to the bottom of it. He would figure out what was wrong and he would find out soon.

"Alright, I'm going for food. I'll be back soon." Sakura said and advanced towards the man. She leaned over his desk and as he looked up she placed a chaste kiss on her husband's lips and departed from the room.

**XxX**

Sakura watched as the pen ran across the papers in her medical file. The violet hair of the doctor cascaded gracefully down the back of the doctor.

And when said doctor turned around, Sakura looked up into the smiling, captive eyes of her student Konuka Sakaya. For months she had been training the girl. She had asked Sakaya to do this appointment so she could see how far along the girl had come. After all her training, Sakaya decided to help out in the area of pregnancy and newborns.

(**Remember Sakaya from TWIMC? Go back if you forgot!)**

"I'll just do an ultrasound." She said and started fiddling with the large machine. When it was ready, she grabbed a bottle that was near and squeezed a generous amount of cold gel on Sakura's stomach.

"It's cold." Sakura said after an intake of breath. She'd done this so many times, but she had never had an ultrasound done to herself.

"Obviously. We don't heat the gel Sakura-san." The girl replied with a giggle. She placed the small remote like monitor on Sakura's stomach and moved it around. Sakura craned her head around so she could look at the screen.

"They never look like much." Sakaya said. "At least at the beginning." The violet haired girl had trained her golden eyes enough. She pointed to something minuscule. "But there." She smiled and stilled the monitor.

Sakura could feel her heart beat slowly, then quicken all at the same time. That was her baby right there. Her's and Gaara's baby. Growing inside of her.

"Shall I print you some pictures?" Sakaya asked teasingly as she observed Sakura's face. The more experienced medic shook her head and looked up.

"No it's just…wow you know." Her student took some paper towels and handed them to Sakura who cleaned her stomach off. She looked down at the flat surface of her body and sighed. "What's this kid going to do to me?" she asked aloud. In other words, she was going to get fat.

"That's just part of it. I'm sure you've had other symptoms?" Sakaya asked as she made a note in the folder. Sakura sat up.

"Hunger. That already started. I haven't really had any other symptoms though." She said.

"Oh, no morning sickness yet?" the girl asked. Sakura shook her head. She never liked the sound of it, and having to experience it soon was going to be a nightmare.

"As far as I can tell, it should be coming very soon. You are just over a month along and the sickness starts around two months." Sakura frowned. Sounded like fun. No missions for her. Not that she did too many missions. Only when she was needed. Otherwise she was in the hospital. Well, at least she could work in the hospital up for a bit of time.

"Hm. I'll get through it. Morning sickness doesn't last through the whole pregnancy at least." Sakura said. She was glad that she was a medic and knew all of the fact about pregnancies. That gave her some kind of relief. She knew what she was doing and what she should be doing at least.

"Yeah that's true." Sakaya said and trialed off. She wrote a few more things down and a silence filled the room. She finished off her last note and shut the folder. "Does he know?"

"Does who know?"

"Oh don't play dumb! Gaara-sama!" the violet haired doctor said. Her face lit up like a school girl getting the latest gossip and she advanced towards Sakura. Sakura frowned in turn and looked away. The looked went noticed. "You haven't told him?"

"…No."

"Why?" the girl asked. Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "'Fraid to tell him aren't you?" Sakaya said with a slight smirk. It was too obvious and it happened to a lot of girls.

"…Yes." Sakura stated simply.

Of course she was afraid. Gaara wasn't always the calmest and most understanding person in the world and she didn't know how he would react.

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it! Gaara-sama isn't like…a big jerk." Sakaya said. Sakura gave her a look. "Well, from what you've told me about him." she added in quickly.

"Yeah, well we'll find out what he thinks when I'm ready to tell him." the kunoichi said and jumped down from the table. "Now I'm going to go and enjoy the rest of my day off." Sakura said and marched out of the room.

"Oh, matte!" Sakaya said and stopped Sakura. "Vitamins. I told you not to let me forget them." The two walked back through the hospital to their own personal pharmacy where all of the meds for patients were held. "Just…I forgot where they were." The girl said and began reading labels.

"I think they were back here." Sakura said and walked back and sorted through a rack of small white bottles. She found the one label she wanted and checked it over twice. "I believe this is the one I want." She said. After a recheck, she was certain it was. "Yeah, I've got it. Now I'll go enjoy my day off. I'll see you around Sakaya." Sakura said as they walked out into the hall.

"See you sometime Sakura-san. And your secret is safe with me!"

**XxX**

"You're still not going to tell him yet?" Temari asked Sakura. The pink haired girl was looking around the kitchen, unsure of what she should make for dinner.

"Not yet. I'm still not ready." She replied and grabbed the bag of rice. She then moved to the cabinet that held all of the seasonings. "I'll have to tell him soon though. It would be weird if I woke up sick in the morning, and then was perfectly fine in the afternoon, only to be sick the next morning." She said and advanced towards the fridge.

Temari flipped the page in a random magazine she had and sighed. "Guess your right. And what do you say when you get bigger. 'Oh what stomach Gaara? It's just a few extra pounds.'" The blonde said and pushed her stomach out in example. Sakura giggled at her sister's show. (Yes I'll refer to them all as brothers and sisters. Easier than writing out in-law at the end of everything.)

"I just wish I could tell how he would react." She said. Sakura walked to the island in the middle of the kitchen were Temari was sitting and rested her elbows on the counter top. "Then it would be easy."

"I'll tell you how he'll react. First he'll he surprised, then he won't say anything for the longest time, then I think he would say something. And if not, check for a pulse." Was the only reply Temari gave her.

"Right, thanks." Sakura said with a sweat drop running down her head.

**XxX**

"Gaara-sama! Gaara-sama! A message just arrived for you! It's from Konoha!" One shinobi ran into Gaara's office, a scroll in his outstretched hand. He panted as he placed the scroll on Gaara's desk. The redhead looked up and nodded to the man, silently thanking and excusing him.

Gaara opened the scroll and his pale green eyes scanned over the text that lay on the paper. Although when he finished his eyes were wider than normal.

Oh snap.

There was an issue. The note was from Tsunade. Apparently there was some kind of unknown and incurable disease in Konoha. They medic staff were working day and night in an attempt to stop this plague. The Godaime had requested a team of Suna's own medic staff and specifically her apprentice to come to the village right away.

It would be unknown how long the team would remain in Konoha. Which means it would be unknown how long Sakura would be in Suna. In the past year almost he hadn't been separated from her for too long. But she had to go. They needed her at her village at the moment.

Aw damn. Stupid bad things always have to happen.

**XxX**

Sakura walked up the steps and down the hall to her room. Gaara hadn't come home for dinner and she had a feeling he wouldn't be home either until late tonight, or possibly not at all. But that happened when you were the leader of a village. If you were needed, you had no choice.

The pink haired girl walked over to the window and glanced out at the clear night sky. She couldn't help but think of what was about to happen to her. In a matter of months she would be a mother. The mere thought made her stomach jump and she didn't know if it was from excitement or nervousness. Both most likely.

What about her friend back home? Her parents? If she couldn't tell her husband, how did she expect to tell them? Would they be disappointed in her? Thrilled? She didn't know at all.

It was all too confusing to her.

Sakura moved and sat on her side of the bed, her legs hanging over the edge. She reached back and untied the headband that was placed on her head. Once it was off she let the red material run through her fingers and stopped when the forehead protector settled on her palms. She traced the Sand village symbol on it.

Her baby would be a sand nin.

The words sent a shiver up her spine, neither good nor bad. It was…strange to say those words. If you said that to her even two years ago she would be laughing in your face. But the reality of it all was sinking in. Her child, when they become a ninja, would wear a hitai ate with the sand village symbol on it like she was at present time.

Sakura opened her bedside drawer and pulled out another hitai ate. Her other one. The girl had refused to refer to it as her 'old' headband. It makes it sound like Konoha was her 'old' village. That wasn't it. Konoha was still home to her. Suna was just, her new home. Her home where she would raise her family with her husband and siblings.

Her husband. He really did deserve to know no matter how he reacted. That's it; she would tell him when she saw him.

When Sakura looked down at the leaf village symbol she frowned. Her finger ran along the metal. There was a crack in the headband. Straight through the middle, almost like the Akatsuki had.

Her brows furrowed as she stared curiously at the thing. She hadn't worn it or anything. So how could it be cracked? Maybe…did something bad happen to the village? Was this like some bad omen?

Just as that thought ran through her mind the door burst open and Temari came in looking panicked. "Sakura pack your bag." She said.

"Wha…why? What happened?" she questioned. She had stood up off the bed and was holding her leaf village headband behind her back.

"Something bad is happening in Konoha. They need you over there now. Let's go!" Temari ushered her along.

Sakura hearts stopped and it seemed like slow motions as the headband fell from her hands.

**I'm extremely sorry that it took me so long to get this up! Review anyways because you love me!**


	3. Heartbreaking

**Sorry that I take forever. For those who haven't read FOL, then like I said, updating will get hard seeing that school is a bitch. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me unfortunately. **

The impact of the words hit hard and Sakura was stuck to her spot. Temari took the time to grab her bag and mindlessly shuffle through Sakura's dresser and pulled out practically all of her clothes and shove them into a bag.

"We have to move as fast as we can. We're leaving right away." The blonde said.

Sakura blinked as the words were registered in her mind. "What happened?" she asked shakily. She watched as her clothes were carelessly thrown into her traveling bag and she awaited an answer.

"There's been a breakout of an unknown disease. Tsunade-sama requested for you and a medical team to join the medics in Konoha. From what we think, this is really serious. There haven't been many reports of Konoha ninja coming around for missions which could only mean that this disease has spread rapidly. Supposedly there isn't a cure and they're working really hard trying to find one. They need help right away, so we have to leave right away." Temari explained. She zipped the bag shut. Sakura grabbed her sand headband and picked her leaf headband up. She took the bag from Temari and shoved the leaf headband inside then tied her sand hitai ate on tight.

"But…are we going to see Gaara first? Is he going to give us instructions?" she asked almost frantically as they both charged down the stairs. Temari had grabbed her own bag before they ran out of the house.

"No. Gaara has a meeting scheduled. He met with the rest of our team while I came to get you. He should be getting into the meeting right now. Many shinobi are being called together to discuss the matter with Konoha and how we're going to help." She said. The pair ran along the dark streets and down the path to the Kazekage office. Sakura held her hair back as the harsh winds of the night danced around. She narrowed her eyes to avoid getting sand in them.

"But Temari, when are we coming back?" Sakura asked. If they were going to take too long she had to talk to Gaara. She had to see him. She wanted to tell him about the baby.

"I don't know Sakura. As long as it takes to find a cure I'm guessing! That can take a long time." The blonde took note of what Sakura was saying. "Look, if you aren't able to see Gaara and tell him before we leave, why don't you have Kankuro tell him? That way you don't have to worry about it." she said.

Sakura shook her head. She saw the tall building approaching and was desperately hoping that Gaara hadn't gone into the meeting yet and was still talking with her assigned team.

"No. I can't do that. When he finds out, I want to be the one to tell him. And I want to tell him in person. I don't think it's something I can let go so easily on a piece of paper. I want to see his face when I tell him." she replied. There was no way she would miss the face. She made a note to make sure she had a camera on hand as well when she did tell him.

"It's your choice Sakura." Temari stopped her run as the pair reached the office building. The pair entered and headed in for Gaara's office.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Gaara had been trying to stall time after he had sent Temari out to retrieve Sakura. He took his time as he explained the plan and the duties of the medical ninja before him. There were six of them and when Temari and Sakura joined there would be eight all together traveling to Konoha.

He had been told twice to get into the conference room but he refused to go and said he was explaining a few things. He didn't want to go in before he got to see his wife. With Sakura leaving on this mission, she wasn't likely to return for quiet a while. A few months a best. It all depended on how fast the medics worked at finding a cure.

"Gaara-sama. Now. They need you in there. Everyone is waiting for you." Baki said from the doorway. He didn't look pleased with the Kazekage's evasive actions and Gaara sighed before standing up. He knew he couldn't abandon his responsibilities.

"Sakura and Temari should be arriving soon." He informed them. He received a few nods. He slowly walked out of the room and down the hall to the conference room.

It really had been no more than three minutes when Temari and Sakura entered the room. A frown was etched on the pink haired girls face when she noticed that the Kazekage wasn't in the room. She really had to tell him about their child. She wanted to. But if he had already gone into the meeting…there was no way she could.

"Is everyone all set?" Temari asked.

The rest of the group (which was made up of all medics) nodded their heads and headed out for the door.

"When did Gaara leave?" Sakura asked them.

"Oh, he left not long ago. Right before you two came in. Baki-san came to take him to the meeting." One girl said. She seemed awfully cheerful. Too cheerful for Sakura who merely frowned at her.

"Sakura, sorry you missed him but we have to go now. We have to arrive in your village as soon as we can so let's get going." Temari said. She took Sakura by the shoulders and pushed her along and out the door. Sakura had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew she had to leave and go back to her village. She only wished that Gaara could go with her.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The group had been traveling for two and a half days. They moved quickly and took short rest stops. Sakura had enough will power to move continuously, but the others had insisted on breaks.

They had finally arrived in the village and as they showed their IDs to today's guards, Sakura was already looking around at everything her eyes spotted. It felt like she hadn't been here in ages. It looked so foreign to her, yet it was so familiar. As the group entered the village, Sakura took the lead. She felt a flutter in her heart, now being back in her home village. She couldn't help but smile.

"The Hokage tower is down this way." She said, pointing out the large red building. The others nodded, looking around. They had to travel down a busy street to get to the tower, and when the got to the entrance there was someone waiting for them. Two people actually.

Sakura's face lit up and she went ahead of the group. "Ino!" she shouted. The blonde smiled, waving frantically. On her other side was Shikamaru, looking tired and bored.

The pink haired medic hugged her friend tightly, feeling as though it had been years since they even _talked _let alone seen each other. When they parted they held each other at arms length, observing each other closely.

"You look great!" Ino said, noting the bright look on Sakura's face.

"So do you." Sakura retorted. Ino looked up and noticed her Sand village forehead protector.

"Oh…" she gasped and touched it. Sakura figured what so was cooing over and touch the band herself.

"Strange isn't it?" she commented. Ino nodded and took Shikamaru's arm, holding it tight.

"Tsunade-sama has directed Shika in charge of showing everyone around. I got excited when I heard you where coming back, but I'm not excited about the reason." The blonde said frowning.

Sakura frowned as well, and the rest of the group surrounding her stood awkwardly around her. Temari smiled.

"Don't worry; everything will turn out just fine. Now, can you tell me where we are staying? My feet are _killing_ me." She said in a slightly rude tone. Ino frowned in her direction.

"Follow me." She seethed and she and Shikamaru led the group into the Hokage mansion. "Tsunade-sama has prepared rooms for everyone. She said to use as many as were needed."

The team didn't have a lot of time to rest. They had time to set their things down and take a quick breath before they were escorted back out. "Tsunade-sama wanted to see you all as soon as you got in." Shikamaru informed the group. Hands shoved in his pockets, he didn't bother to rush at all as he led the way to the hospital. "And I warn you now; it is pure hell in there."

"Just how bad is it?" Sakura asked.

"It's bad." Ino said in a grave tone. "There are a lot of people who have fallen victim to this. People _we_ know Sakura. And I don't think I can prepare you enough." The blonde didn't want to frighten her friend, but she was going to find out everything soon. And she wasn't going to be happy.

Shikamaru was right when he said that everything was pure hell. The moment you walked into the hospital all you heard was yelling. Yelling in different forms. Doctors yelling at nurses and other doctors, people yelling for assistance, patients yelling for the hell of it. This was not the hospital Sakura remembered.

"And you worked here?" One of the team members questioned. Sakura nodded dully and walked up to the front desk.

"Excuse me." She said politely. The brunette looked up, looking as though she wanted to murder a few people.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Is Tsunade-sama available? I mean, do you know where she is?" Sakura asked as nicely as she could. The girl's look made it obvious that she had no clue where the Hokage was.

"Sakura, oh thank Kami you're here." The relieved sound came from a woman who just emerged from the hallway. She smiled, her dark tired eyes now finding a bit of light as she smiled.

"Shizune." Sakura said with an air of happiness. Oh how she had missed the woman. The skittish yet firm pig-sitter and someone Sakura looked up to as an older sister. She walked over to the woman and motioned for the others to follow. "This is the Suna medic team." Sakura said, waving a hand in front of the group. Some of them smiled, some nodded in acknowledgement.

Shizune bowed to them. "Thank you all for coming. Your help will be greatly appreciated." She said. "Now if you all follow me, I'll bring you to Tsunade-sama."

As the group walked down the hallway, Ino and Shikamaru stopped outside of a door. "There's someone we're going to visit. We'll see you later Sakura." Ino said in a quiet tone and they disappeared behind the door. Sakura wasn't able to see who was in the room.

Shizune brought the group down a hallway and there, talking to one of the doctors was the Hokage herself. "Tsunade-sama." Shizune said as the doctor walked off, shaking his head while reading a chart. "They have arrived." She said and motioned behind her toward the group.

Tsunade smiled, and looked right at Sakura. "Thank you all for coming. As you can see we're in a bit of a crisis." She said, trying to add a little humor into a horrible situation. "But your help is greatly appreciated. First off, it would be best to learn more about each of you before it's decided where to place you. For today, I'll start all of you off on simple nursing duties before your positions are decided." She said. The group nodded.

"Shizune, could you take them and show them around?" Tsunade asked. The woman nodded and motioned for the group to follow her. "Sakura, you stay here with me. And you, Temari. I'm sure you're not a skilled medic, but if you ever feel that you need to help it would be greatly appreciated. For now you can go rest. Thank you for escorting everyone here." Sakura could hear how exhausted her teacher was and she felt a bad feeling in her gut.

"I'm sure I'll pop in to help from time to time. For now, I think I'm going to my room to rest." Temari said.

"Do you need someone to direct you?" Tsunade asked.

"Nah, I've got it memorized. Thank you for everything Hokage-sama." Temari bowed her head and turned to leave, leaving Sakura to walk beside Tsunade.

"I honestly didn't think it would be this bad." Sakura said. The thought that the hospital was like this was heartbreaking. All the hard work they were putting in to help everyone and finding a cure. Tsunade nodded and turned towards the bathroom and slipped inside, Sakura following behind.

"We're requiring frequent hand washing." Tsunade reported as she doused her hands in hot water.

"That's smart." Sakura said and followed her shishou's ministrations. "I have to ask, what exactly is this disease like?"

Tsunade sighed, scrubbing her hands fiercely. "As far as we can tell, the disease is a virus that attacks the immune system, making it hard for the body to fight the infection. It also takes over the bloodstream and slowly kills off red blood cells. It appears that the virus is able to live on the skin for a portion of a few days. That's how it was spread so easily. It can be contained with one touch. That's why we've advised people to wash their hands as often as they can. That's the basics that we have gathered." Tsunade concluded.

Sakura nodded, and right away was thinking of all of the medical possibilities that this could bring upon people. "So people now are…"

"Very weak." Tsunade finished, nodding gravely. The woman used a paper towel to open the door, not wanting to catch any germs from the door handle. "We've had reports of people fainting, and loosing their ability to walk because their legs are so weak. Many people were bed ridden and we had to send medics out to their homes to check on them."

Sakura's eyebrows were furrowed and she frowned. Really, she never thought it was this bad. "How long has this been going on?" she asked.

Tsunade thought for a moment, thinking back to when they first had the reports of this virus. "Nearly two months ago." She saw Sakura's astonished face. "And it just started with a couple people, then a couple became a hand full, and we've grown till we came to this." She explained and raised her arms to the hallway around them. Doctors and nurses rushing around, hospital beds in the halls because there weren't enough rooms. It was a complete disaster. "Now, I really hate to do this to you Sakura…but there are three cases you should know about."

The horrible feeling in her stomach grew worse, and Sakura had the idea that she was going to find out who was in that room that Ino and Shikamaru went into. She was silent, but simply nodded and followed Tsunade.

And it just so happens that she was right. They ended up at that same room. That room, number 67. She didn't know how to react. Tsunade magically pulled out a two pairs of gloves and handed her one. "We also require gloves when around patients." She said. Sakura nodded and slipped them on then slid the door open. This couldn't be drastic could it?

Her stomach completely dropped to the floor. She couldn't believe it. There was a girl in that hospital bed. A curtain was pulled around her bed so she was separated from the other patients. She was pale as a ghost and looked horrible. Her hair was no longer kept up in their tight neat buns, instead let down to flow over the pillow. She was awake and when the door opened, she looked over slowly, a smile spreading over her face.

"Sakura. Wow, it feels like I haven't seen you in ages."

Her heart stopped. She knew it. "Tenten." She whispered. She rushed over to the bed and looked down upon her feeble body. She had grown thin, too think for Sakura's liking. "Tenten...you…how…" she was at a loss for words.

"Hey, don't blubber over me. I'm fine Sakura; they're taking really good care of me. We'll fight this I know it." She tried to sound up to her usual vigor, but it was a weak attempt. "But first I'll need a nap. You're going to be my new nurse right? The one I have now seems grumpy. But I can't blame her, she been working really hard."

Sakura couldn't help but giggle at her friends attempt to humor her. Even when sick, Tenten could still entertain. Sakura wanted nothing more than to hug the girl but she didn't, knowing it wasn't the best idea. "I will. I'll take care of you." Sakura said quietly. Tenten smiled softly.

"That's awesome. Mind if we talk later, I'm kinda tired. Ino's been a worry wart and she wears me out." The girl said smiling before she closed her eyes. Sakura stepped back from the bed, never taking her eyes off of the girl. Then she turned and exited out the door.

Tsunade was waiting outside. "One shock down." She said to her pupil. "But there are two more to go." She felt horrible for the girl as she led them to a room only two doors down. Number 65.

This time Tsunade went in with Sakura and moved past the first bed that held a boy, pale and sleeping, who looked to be around Sakura's age. The stopped at the second bed and the Hokage signaled for Sakura to not forget to breath. Sakura nodded and took a deep breath. Then Tsunade pulled back the curtain a bit, allowing Sakura to go behind them.

This blow seemed to be the harder than the last one. Her throat went dry, her heart stopped, her stomach sank, and for a second it felt like her knees were going to buckle. And for a moment, she stopped breathing.

"No." she moaned. "No…no…Kakashi."

Her former teacher. Lying in a hospital bed. Looking pale. Looking miserable. She couldn't believe her eyes. The man who couldn't be brought down by anyone…was brought down by one small virus. He looked horrible and Sakura felt horrible.

As she approached him, she noticed he was sleeping. His hitai ate had been removed, and his eyes looked sunken in slightly. She grasped the bars surrounding the bed tightly, the only sound she heard were three different heart rate monitors.

She wanted to cry.

"Please…Kakashi you have to get better. I'm going to try my hardest to take care of you, all of you." She said quietly. "I won't let anything happened to you, I promise."

She didn't want to leave his side. For some reasons she felt completely helpless. She wanted to help all of these people, but she didn't know what she could do until she was informed on everything. She would work her ass off if it meant finding a cure. No matter…no matter how long it took.

Tsunade pulled the girl away. "One more." She whispered, knowing this one could easily break the girl. She had no way to prepare her either, but she had to know. It was best to get it over with, that's all she could do.

So they traveled down a new hallway and up a flight of stairs. Tsunade never trusted elevators, and they were a breeding ground for viruses. Once they reached the new landing, things seemed a bit calmer, if only a little. The Hokage led the girl down to room 110 and stopped.

"I can't prepare you for this one." She said sadly. Sakura nodded and slowly opened the door.

He was in the first bed. Right there in plain view. Looking just as sickly as everyone else. This time Sakura knees did buckle but she managed to stay standing. The tears formed in her eyes but she didn't let them fall.

This by far was the worst.

His dark hair, his bright green eyes, shielded by his closed eye lids, his face no longer holding it's loving smile. It was heartbreaking.

And there was a woman sitting besides his bed, hands in her lap. She turned when the door opened and smiled tiredly. "Sakura, dear."

Sakura was shaking her head, in complete disbelief. She cried softly, "Daddy."

**Now, there's another chapter. I'm getting new ideas for this one. I will try my hardest to get another chapter up soon but no promises. **


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